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Everyone said hello, but my voice caught in my throat when I noticed the figure standing next to our host.
A fae.
This was no high snooty city fae either. Fae were wild, raw, and commanding with coloring varying like a rainbow. They kept to their own and rarely concerned themselves with the other races. I’d never seen one up close. I don’t think anyone I knew had ever seen one, and now, here one stood in all his rugged glory. He had short, shaggy silver hair that hung in his face and around his pointy ears, covering a portion of the most piercing light lavender eyes I’d ever seen. His velvety plum toned skin made his eyes too piercing to look at. The twin swords at his hips added to his powerful presence and the ivy tattoo crawling up his right arm perfectly added to his persona.
Demious must have sensed our curiosity, for I wasn’t the only one gaping.
“This is the head of my guard, Baine. You will get used to him,” Demious said before sitting.
Janetta and I stared at one another, trying to hide our shock.
Maybe fae were common in Farrow’s Gate, but not from where I lived. I wasn’t sure I could get used to him.
Dinner moved painfully slow while Demious ranted about his status and power and going on about his magical prowess and how he kept the darkthings from entering Farrow’s Gate. He may have been more attractive if he wasn’t so boorish. I found it hard to believe all the stories about him and his shadow magic . . . he seemed someh.
I tried to be attentive, but my gaze shifted to the fae who stoically stared ahead. Not once did he look at any of the girls or seem interested in anything being discussed.
After the roasted quail had been served, I desperately needed to relieve myself. “Excuse me, my lord.”
Lord Demious smiled at me. “Yes?”
“Is there a place I can refresh?”
“Of course, Baine, show her.”
Baine’s gaze met mine and there was nothing but contempt in those pretty eyes. I stood and followed him out of the hall.
Lord Demious must’ve been very powerful. How else could a fae be stuck in this estate with that snore of a lord? Baine should be out in the wilds, hunting, ravaging. If I was to be some prospect and not a servant, I’d need an ally, and who better than the male closest to Lord Demious.
“Here.” Baine nodded at a door on our left.
But I couldn’t move, not when his deep voice raked against my skin. He sounded as ancient as the old trees in the North, solid, deep.
“Is there a problem?”
“Forgive me,” I said, using my polite voice, and gently bowed. “I have never met a fae before.”
“I’m not here for your pleasure, go.”
I ignored the slight and ran inside the washroom. Hiking up my dress, I used the toilet, then cleaned myself, making sure to pat the sweat off my brow and make myself presentable. I hadn’t been forced to wear such a constricting outfit since I was sixteen. Lord Demious still hadn’t explained why there were a bunch of women at dinner. I needed answers.
Exiting the washroom, Baine motioned for me to walk, and we returned to the hall where,surprise, Lord Demious was still discussing his latest accomplishment.
If I wasn’t so hungry, I would have paid more attention to the magistrate, but my stomach couldn’t seem to fill. Each decadent dish was more satisfying than the next until finally after dessert had been served, creampuffs and strawberries, I could barely stuff anymore in.
“I’m sure you’re all curious as to why you are here.”
My ears perked up and I listened.Finally, something useful.
He cleared his throat and continued. “I will choose one of you to be my wife. My bride must compliment me well in order to maintain the magic within Farrow’s Gate. We will explore your abilities over these next few weeks. Each of you were chosen, but only one of you will be claimed. The rest of you will pay off the debts you owe over the next three years in an undisclosed location. You may explore the estate grounds during the day. Your collars will not let you go past the boundaries.”
Not one girl spoke, half of us were barely breathing.
Was this a competition?
I came to pay off a debt, not be wed, and three years? The troll told me one. I couldn’t be away from the farm that long. The old ranger watching the firehawks may not even live another three years, and my hawks were too sick, and had been since my parents died.
Three years wasn’t an option for me.
Lord Demious smiled. “We’ll start tomorrow.”
Janetta and I shared a worried glance.
Without access to my flame, I had no choice but to play along, but I had no intention of being anyone’s wife. What did Demious mean by saying undisclosed location? With each word my apprehension grew.
Something warned me that if I didn’t marry Demious, I might never see my home again.
